Finding Diverse Books 2024 | Picture Books

Updated December 13, 2023
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Ancient night
Bowles, David
Paper Book
Publishers Weekly Best of the Year BookPage Best of the Year Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Evanston Library Best of the Year Horn Book 2023 Summer Reading List "Vivid and vibrant." --NPR...

A beautifully-illustrated folktale combining two stories from Nahua myth, the rabbit in the moon and Lord Opossum who stole fire from the gods. This is a great option for supplementing folklore units and pairs well with Moon Pops by Heena Baek, Papa, Won't You Get the Moon for Me? by Eric Carle, Aesop's Fables and the Greek story of Prometheus. Also available in Spanish as Noche Antigua!

Language | Spanish

What you need to be warm
Gaiman, Neil
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller! During the coldest season, when the world feels scary--what do you remember about being warm? Baked potatoes. Trust. A kettle on the stove. Blankets. A smile. And, most of all, the reassurance that you...

A poem about warmth, both literal and metaphorical, crafted by suggestions from Newbery Award-winner Gaiman's Twitter followers and illustrated by 13 different artists--some of them refugees themselves. Use it to highlight the strong use of figurative language and in SEL lessons about kindness. Teachers of older students could invite students to write their own collaborative poem as a class and take turns illustrating each other's work.

Citizenship Status

Remember
Harjo, Joy
Paper Book
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER .AN AMERICAN INDIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION HONOR BOOK.A BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK HONOR AWARD . NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY School Library Journal . Publishers Weekly . The Horn Book .NPR . The Bulletin . Kirkus Reviews

Caldecott Medalist Michaela Goade illustrates a poem by former US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. The emphasis on human connection to the natural world makes this a great choice for Earth Day and other environmental science lessons, as well as Poetry Month and Native American Heritage Month.

Race & Ethnicity | Indigenous

Summer is for cousins
LaRocca, Rajani
Paper Book
Summer is for cousins. Mom and Dad, Two uncles, two aunties, Thatha and Pati, Seven cousins, All of us are together.

Ravi's extended family gathers for the annual family beach trip, but his cousin Dhruv is approaching adolescence and seems a bit too cool and grown up to play with the little kids. Ravi is shy about approaching him until he has an opportunity to make their favorite dessert--banana ice cream--for the whole family. Maintaining relationships with siblings and cousins as they enter different stages of life is a common experience for lots of kids, and I love how sensitively Rajani Larocca handles a topic that can feel like a Big Deal to younger kids.

Race & Ethnicity | Asian & Pacific Islander

Challah day!
Offsay, Charlotte
Paper Book
"An oasis of Jewish joy." --School Library Journal Baked with love! A family mixes, kneads, braids, and bakes bread for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa in this joyful, rhyming story. Inspired by memories author Charlotte Offsay and illustrator Jason Kirschner...

A family bakes a challah loaf for an unspecified Jewish holiday. This one makes a great conversation starter for special foods families make to celebrate special occasions and the step-by-step baking instructions serve as a mentor text for process writing assignments.

Religion | Jewish

My mommies built a treehouse
Peter, Gareth
Paper Book
Building a treehouse is a big project. But when your mommies are there to help you, there's nothing that can stop you! When one boy sets out to build the treehouse of his dreams, there's so much to consider - from finding the perfect tree to drawing up the plans. There...

A great STEM tie-in! The unnamed narrator's mommies do a great job of helping him break his dream of building a treehouse into individual steps and help him build it one step at a time.

Gender Identity & Sexuality

There was a party for Langston
Reynolds, Jason
Paper Book
A Caldecott Honor Book A Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds's debut picture book is a snappy, joyous ode to Word King, literary genius, and glass-ceiling smasher Langston Hughes and...

Inspired by a photo of Maya Angelou and Amiri Baraka dancing at the party the NYPL threw to honor the poet Langston Hughes, this illustrated poem by powerhouse Jason Reynolds and Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey is a love letter to Hughes' influence on American literature and culture. A wonderful starting point for Black History Month lessons.

Race & Ethnicity | Black

Every body : a celebration of diverse abilities
Rotner, Shelley
Paper Book
Join this photographic celebration of differing physical and neurological abilities from a National Geographic photographer. We have different ways to move around. Celebrating children of different abilities, this photographic book presents large, clear images of...

Vivid, dynamic photos of all kinds of kids illustrate this book about the different ways our bodies work. One thing that makes this book stand out is the inclusion of invisible disabilities, like learning differences and asthma. A bonus afterward includes profiles of four activists who talk to kids about their own experiences having a disability as a child.

Disability

Papá's magical water-jug clock
Trejo, Jesús
Paper Book
★Kirkus Reviews★Publishers Weekly★School Library Journal A 2024Pura Belpre Honor Award, American Library Association International Latino Book Award HonorableMention In Mexican American comedian Jesos Trejo's debut picture book, a...

Comedian Jesus Trejo tells a real story from his childhood about the time he completely mismanaged his papi's "water jug clock" while helping with his landscaping business. Many Latine kids take on responsibilities helping their parents with tasks around the house or in family businesses, and almost all kids have experienced frustration and disappointment when their attempts to help their parents don't work out as planned.

Race & Ethnicity | Latine


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